June 28, 2015

RSU14 is seeing a lot of changes to its
top administrative positions now that the school year is over. Charlie Haddock
is retiring from Windham Middle School where he has taught and worked at least
20 years as a teacher, assistant principal and then principal.

“I admired his ambitious agenda,” said
superintendent Sandy Prince. “He’s intelligent. When I watch him with people
he’s so respectful.” Other words to describe Haddock were patient, trustworthy
and fair.

Haddock’s legacy for WMS will be his
attempts to create a children-centered approach to get children excited about
what they are learning, Prince said. A lot of that work has been done in the
past two years, while Haddock was at the helm of WMS.

Andrew Patin, former principal at
Sanford Middle School will fill the position left by Haddock. Mark Jaronczyk
will continue as assistant principal.

“We had unbelievable candidates,” said
Prince. Many of the applicants said that Windham was the only place they were
applying, which speaks to the reputation of the school department.

Principal Cindy Curtis is leaving
Manchester School, to be replaced by Danielle Donnini, the current
instructional leader/assistant principal.

“Cindy is a great listener. She has a
steadiness about her. She leads by collaboration and wants people to have
input,” said Prince. She was described as strategic. She thinks and plans
before she jumps into a project. She also used a lot of data to help with her
projects.

“She sees the possibility in things,”
Prince said.

Kristal Vargo-Ward will join the
Manchester team as the assistant principal.

Special education director Dr. Phil
Posiatiano is leaving the RSU to take on the role of assistant superintendent
at RSU21 in Kennebunkport. His replacement is Lisa Garneau from the Pittsfield
area and came highly regarded, according to Prince. This was the hardest
position to fill and the second most difficult job in the RSU, said Prince, but
he added that it’s “very rewarding, too.”

Pender Makin is also leaving the REAL
School for a position as the assistant superintendent in Brunswick. Her
assistant director Martin Mackey will take her position and Rich Meserve, a
special education teacher at the REAL School will become the assistant
director.

Windham Veterans Association received an
additional $2,500 toward the Toby’s Dream campaign this past week when Modern
Woodmen matched $2,500 of the money the Veterans raised with $2,500 for a total
of $5,000 toward the project.

To date WVA has raised over $54,000
toward the paving of the parking lot at the Windham Veterans Center. Twenty
names will be considered “grand donors” having donated $1,000 or more.

Any additional money WVA raises will go
toward other improvements in the property. The paving is planned for this
summer, but details are still being worked out, according to Brenda Pennels.

“WVA appreciates all the support for the
project from the Pennels family, Veterans and the community,” said Don Swander,
the project director for and creator of the Toby’s Dream project. WVA hopes to
complete the paving this summer.

June 21, 2015

Saturday a little over 50 people
attended the Town of Windham Annual Meeting at the town hall gym to approve the
municipal budget. Gary Plummer acted as moderator for the meeting. He asked for
a moment of silence for Windham residents who have passed, those not able to be
at the meeting and for Veterans who are serving our country.

Council members in attendance were Dave
Nadeau (chair), Donna Chapman, Tommy Gleason, Bob Muir. Roy Moore couldn’t be
there because of a previous commitment it was announced.

The citizens in attendance voted to
approve the budget for fiscal year 2015-2016 for the amount of $15,579,836.00.

“We looked at essential services first,”
said council chairman Nadeau. “We took that approach for transparency
purposes.”

The only issue discussed was the lack of
public participation. “We’re approving a multi-million dollar budget. Sixty
people are voting on something that affects everyone in the town,” said Carol
Waig. She was told that if anyone could come up with a better way to do the annual
meeting to speak with Linda Morrell, the town clerk. It would be a two year
process to change.

Almost as soon as the annual meeting
ended, a special town meeting was called to order to approve the purchase of
property for a new South Windham fire station.

“This kind of fell in our lap,” said
Nadeau. It was third on the list for improvements behind public works. The
opportunity to purchase the buildings in South Windham was too good to pass up.
The council was negotiating until late Tuesday night for the purchase and sale
agreement. “We’ve been extremely frugal with this,” said Nadeau.

The 12,000 square foot building is part
of a commercial condominium meaning that Windham would own the buildings and
some land around the structures, but no the entrances and common areas. “The
town would own an interest in the land,” said town manager Tony Plante.

The discussion centered around having
another empty building left in the South Windham village, and at the time of
the meeting no decisions had been made as to what would happen to the existing
fire station on the banks of the Presumpscot River. Plante noted the need for
green space and other needs for South Windham. He also said they would have a
year to figure that out.

Another resident was concerned with how
Gorham felt about moving the station further away from the line. “There is no
other site in the village to keep (the fire station) in the village,” said
Plante.

When it came to the vote, it wasn’t
unanimous, but the show of hands vote showed strong support for the project,
which has a budget of up to $1,668,000 for repairs and upgrades to the existing
structure at 33 Main Street.

“I think it is the best option with the
least disruption of services. This keeps it in the village and gives us room to
grow,” said Chief Brent Libby. “It will be a great community effort. It’s a
department project, but people can be involved in, and invest in it.”

Eighteen REAL School students earned
their high school diplomas, representing eight different sending high
schools. Thursday evening, June 4, the REAL School celebrated its
students' accomplishments with more than 200 family members, community
partners, staff, and students in attendance. In keeping with REAL School
tradition, each graduate was acknowledged individually by a staff member who
knew him or her well, providing sentimental anecdotes and tributes to the
students' strengths and highlights from their time at REAL. Every graduate has
a transition plan, with eight students enrolled in SMCC courses, three entering
trade schools, one entering the military, and six graduates entering the
workforce with full-time employment.

RSU14 student, Madeline Wilson, read a letter to the school, including the
lines:

"To say that high school has been a struggle for me is an understatement.
It has been an uphill battle that, at times, I felt as though I was facing
alone ... I felt as though giving up was my only option. (Then) I was welcomed
into the REAL School with open arms, I felt included, and for the first time in
my hish school career, I felt accepted. Without every single staff member at
The REAL School, my goal for graduation would have been unattainable. ...(my
teacher) taught me that family is not blood - family are the people who push
you, who care for you, even at your most difficult times. Family are the people
you sit down and have dinner with at the end of a 13-hour van ride (referring
to a recent service learning trip to Washington D.C.)."

An excerpt from another RSU14 student, Emily Denbow:

""Two years passed, and I watched
brilliant, loose sparks catch on fire
We thought we'd failed, until one day
we saw our light dancing

We burned crimson and orange,
Sooty gray and tired black,
Sending flares into the night
to light each other's way

When the flames began to dwindle
fear blossomed and bled from our
lips as we bit down harder, reaching
for anything stronger than us

But one day, we heard a calling
It said, "the road doesn't end here,"
And the fear hardened
Into the skeleton of a phoenix.

With bright, new eyes
We shook the ashes from our feet
at the welcome mat,
and realized we'd been home all along

No longer are we so timid
about the leftover flame inside
I beg you, keep burning -
You know the road doesn't end here."

Last Sunday, the class of 2015 crossed
the stage at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland as the 118th graduating class
from Windham High School. With dignitaries from the towns of Windham and
Raymond, RSU14 school board and legislators, the class expressed their
excitement about moving on and their love of the family which lost its son
recently.

The guest speaker was US Senator Angus
S. King, Jr. He outlined his top 10 list of advice for graduates. He turned
around and addressed the graduates instead of facing the audience.

1. Take more risks (regret the things you did and not the things you did
not do).
2. Learn how to shake hands.
3. Attitude is everything. "It's your attitude and not your
aptitude that determines your altitude," he said.
4. There is no such thing as a geographical or material cure.
5. Always carry a $20 bill hidden somewhere on you.
6. Be honest.
7. When in doubt, don't get married.
8. Don't write anything in cyberspace that you don't want your
grandmother to read on the front page of the NY Times.
9. Treat each job as if it’s the most important you'll ever have.
10. Value your friends and family because in the end that's all you have.

Other speeches by some of the top 10 students had messages like “adventure is
out there”, thank you for the love and support of the community, replace I with
you and you could be a motivational speaker.

Valedictorian Joe Paluso admitted to having a tough act to follow after last
year’s valedictorian created a song for the class. “At the very end of his
speech he had everyone stand up and raise their right hand and then raise their
left hand and then he said, "after I say thank you, put your hands
together. The last valedictorian got a standing ovation and I want one too,”
he said.

The Senior Chorus sang a song called
"Next to Me" written by senior Ceili Spaulding.

The last speech of the night was giving
by class president Ian Donnelly, who talked about how his view of life had
drastically changed in the last couple of weeks and how the kindness of his fellow
classmates, his family and the community at this time affected him.

In the program this was printed.
“Today’s ceremony is a celebration for all of our graduates. This rite of
passage is both a solemn and joyous occasion; it marks the successes and
struggles that each student has met while at Windham High School.”